Wines of Chile On-Line 3rd Blogger Tasting: Sauvignon Blanc

Wines of Chile just held its third wildly successful on-line blogger tasting. This time the focus was on Sauvignon Blanc–just as the weather breaks in the northern hemisphere and tastes turn to lighter, fresher, summer wines.

Why do virtual tastings with bloggers? Lori Tieszen, the US Director for Wines of Chile, explained that “Unfortunately we can’t take everyone to Chile to discover the quality and diversity of our wines, so with technology we try to bring a bit of Chile to them. Because Chilean winemakers are known for embracing new technologies, an on-line blogger tasting is a natural fit for Chile.”

Setting up in NY for the WoC blogger tasting

Fifty-five US bloggers from 17 states participated in this on-line event. Each received a box of the 8 wines, information about the wines, wineries, winemakers, and Chilean wine regions, as well as 2 samples of Chilean “1492” brand olive oil beforehand so they could taste along with the 8 winemakers and interact with them and each other via twitter, chat, and live streamed video.

The young and oh-so-dynamic Master Sommelier Fred Dexheimer who led the tasting, had never participated in such a technology-driven event, but was clearly excited about the outcome. “It took a ton of preparation to create a good flow and nail down all the technology needed to pull this event off seamlessly. It was pretty awesome when it all came together; we went live and there was a total rush of adrenaline!”

Fred Dexheimer, good to go in NYC

Wines of Chile recognizes the importance of bloggers and social media in today’s wine world. “Chilean wines are modern and unpretentious and we feel this fits perfectly with the attitude of today’s bloggers. We are a perfect fit!” says Tieszen. “We’re also reaching more and more people via our Facebook Fan Page and Twitter feeds. It’s just another extension of our efforts to talk to people across the US about our incredible wines,” says Tieszen.

Dexheimer, who is the official Wine Educator for WoC in the US, agrees. “The power of social media is definitely awe inspiring! This type of tasting is an amazing way to reach a large number of influential people who talk and write about wine for a living. Wines of Chile was able to connect 51 bloggers with 8 of the best winemakers in Chile and have a virtual conversation about Chilean wine, which is pretty incredible! Overall, I was extremely happy with the questions and comments from both sides of the conversation. I am pumped that so many bloggers were interested in Chilean Sauvignon Blanc and participated not only in our live chat but also through Twitter using the #SBChile tag.”

Fred Dexheimer led the tasting in NYC with Chilean winemakers in Santiago and 51 bloggers across the US

It has been thrilling to see the response before, during, and after the event as this group of bloggers commented on the event itself, the wines, and the opportunity to interact directly with the winemakers, something that for many would be impossible any other way, given the great distances.

This was the first tasting I had done this way, and I think it was terrific. It gave me an excuse to get several people together who like wines and who had a lot to say about these wines. It gave me a chance to hear from several winemakers all at one time who I probably never would have been able to meet in any other way.

We both really enjoyed the whole experience–from the beautiful marketing materials, communication with Morgan Perry, Fred’s moderation, the winemakers, and all the wines (in vary degrees, of course). Neither one of us had participated in a virtual tasting and were not sure what to expect. It was great. Seeing and hearing the winemakers was a highlight. We later enjoyed the leftovers with friends and explained the whole event to them–they quickly joined in in our enthusiasm. Well done Everyone!

It was great to see what Sauvignon Blanc wines are coming out of Chile right now. My friends and followers look forward to hearing about the value focused, quality wines Chile has to offer. I look forward seeing how continues to develop as a wine making region

The bloggers are now doing their thing and have had a lot to say, so take a look at the links below for what they thought of the experience-and the wines!

Twitter activity on #SBChile was high before, during, and after the event

We’ll be adding to this list of blogger posts as they develop. If you participated and don’t see your link here, be sure to let us know!

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by cuore angelino, Wines of Chile. Wines of Chile said: WinesofChile.org has a recap of the Online Blogger Tasting, as well as some cool pictures. Take a look- http://ow.ly/1Rb3C [...]